Colorado House votes to bar cops from helping with federal marijuana crackdown

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

DENVER — Colorado may prohibit law enforcement officers from assisting in a potential federal marijuana crackdown.

The state House voted 56-7 Wednesday to bar public employees from assisting federal agents in “arresting a Colorado citizen for committing an act that is a Colorado constitutional right.”

The Colorado bill doesn’t specifically mention marijuana. But sponsors say it is inspired by threats that federal authorities may try cracking down on the marijuana industry. Federal…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado PTSD marijuana bill advances to House vote, gains amendments focused on children

/in , , , , , , , , /by

Colorado doctors should be allowed to recommend medical marijuana in treating PTSD symptoms of adults, but there should be additional guardrails when it comes to children, state lawmakers decided Thursday.

An amended Senate Bill 17, which would add post-traumatic stress disorder to Colorado’s list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, passed a second reading Thursday in the state House.

“On this auspicious day, we’ve got a serious bill,” bill co-sponsor Sen. Jonathan Singer,…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado House rejects late attempt to bar pot use in churches

/in , , , , , , , , /by

The Colorado House on Thursday rejected a last minute attempt to ban pot use in churches, an amendment that was introduced on the same day the controversial International Church of Cannabis opened in Denver.

Proposed by state Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, the amendment to a broader bill on pot use would have barred pot use in churches, while still allowing exceptions for religious purposes. Pabon argued it was needed to protect Colorado’s reputation, after the International Church of…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Dispute over marijuana taxing authority in Colorado may continue — despite state bill designed to defuse it

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

A bill designed to resolve a high-stakes standoff over taxing authority between Colorado counties and cities when it comes to recreational marijuana sales is expected to pass out of the legislature Monday.

But the measure, if signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper next month, may not stop a protracted legal battle between Adams County and three of its cities from winding up at the state’s high court.

House Bill 1203, sponsored by Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, authorizes counties to…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado ends plans for pot clubs over Trump uncertainty

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

By KRISTEN WYATT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado lawmakers on Thursday backed off plans to become the first U.S. state to regulate marijuana clubs, saying approval of Amsterdam-style pot clubs could invite a federal crackdown.

It was perhaps the starkest display yet of legal pot states’ uncertainty on how to regulate the drug under President Donald Trump. Alaska marijuana regulators recently delayed planned rules for on-site pot consumption at dispensaries.

Colorado’s measure, which would have…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado bill making it a crime to grow recreational weed for others heads to gov’s desk

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

DENVER — Colorado was set Monday to outlaw marijuana growing co-ops soon after the state Senate unanimously approved a bill (HB17-1221) making it a crime for people to cultivate recreational pot for other people.

The bill supported by the office Gov. John Hickenlooper passed 35-0 but it was unclear when he would sign it.

There are no state estimates on how many collective recreational marijuana growing operations exist in Colorado, though they are popular among users who share the cost of…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

New law: Courts can’t force medical marijuana abstinence for users awaiting trial

/in , , , , , , , /by

DENVER — Marijuana use won’t be banned while people await trial in Colorado. That’s according to a new law (SB17-178) signed Thursday.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a measure forbidding a court from saying that criminal defendants who are marijuana patients must abstain from pot as a condition of bond.

 

Read the complete story at The Cannabist.

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

New federal bill would reschedule marijuana as Schedule III

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The latest marijuana-centric bill before Congress would place cannabis as a Schedule III substance, a classification shared by Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and dronabinol.

Two Florida congressmen, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and Democratic Rep. Darren Soto, introduced legislation Thursday that would transfer marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act from its current standing as a Schedule I substance, the strictest of the classifications.

Read the complete story at The…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Exclusive: Here’s how Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper really feels about marijuana

/in , , , , , , , /by

In 2012, when Colorado voters wanted their state to legalize weed for adult recreational use, Gov. John Hickenlooper was thrust into an interesting predicament.

The moderate Democrat had stood in opposition to Amendment 64, a measure he felt would send the wrong message to kids, create public health risks, detract from Colorado’s desirability, and, not to mention, stoke the ire of the feds.

But voters’ will spoke and Hickenlooper became an extremely reluctant figurehead and participant in…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado has strategy for recreational marijuana industry if feds crack down

/in , , , , , , , /by

DENVER — Colorado is considering an unusual strategy to protect its nascent marijuana industry from a potential federal crackdown, even at the expense of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax collections.

A bill pending in the Legislature would allow pot growers and retailers to reclassify their recreational pot as medical pot if a change in federal law or enforcement occurs.

It’s the boldest attempt yet by a U.S. marijuana state to avoid federal intervention in its weed market.

The bill…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado lawmakers urge governor to step in on medical marijuana registry backlog

/in , , , , , /by

Three Colorado legislators are calling on Gov. John Hickenlooper to intervene in the state’s medical marijuana registry backlog, an issue that one lawmaker says is a matter of “life and death.”

In the letter sent to the governor Friday, Democratic representatives Jovan Melton, Adrienne Benavidez and Steve Lebsock expressed their disappointment with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, saying “there is no excuse” for the Medical Marijuana Registry’s six- to eight-week…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado congressman says he’ll “fight the Attorney General” if need be on marijuana

/in , , , , , , /by

Rep. Mike Coffman is suggesting he might use the power of the purse to protect Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.

During a telephone town hall Wednesday evening the Republican congressman was asked about Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ threat to crack down on states like Colorado that have legalized recreational marijuana.

Coffman noted that he opposed the ballot measures that legalized both medical and recreational marijuana in the state. But he added that since voters approved them they…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Citing organized crime, Colorado House OKs efforts to limit marijuana grows

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

In a bid to crack down on drug trafficking, the Colorado House on Monday voted to put new limits on home-grown marijuana that would dramatically reduce the number of plants people can legally grow in residential areas.

The bill would impose a blanket 16-plant per home limit — whether the pot’s grown for medical or recreational purposes.

That represents a significant reduction from the current cap, which goes as high as 99 plants for medical marijuana patients and caregivers — a…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado governor suggests he may veto pot clubs bill without changes

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday expressed reservations about two major pieces of marijuana legislation in Colorado — in one case citing concerns about the Donald Trump administration’s potential crackdown.

The Democrat pledged to veto a measure that won preliminary approval in the state Senate earlier in the day to allow pot clubs with local approval. To win his support, Hickenlooper said the measure needs to ban smoking marijuana indoors.

Under the bill, Senate Bill 184, local…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado legislature looks to address the “wild west” of pot clubs

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

The legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado nearly five years ago opened a vast landscape of unknowns, and now the state is looking to settle one of the last frontiers.

The General Assembly is advancing bipartisan legislation to make Colorado the first state to allow pot clubs — an issue once considered taboo but one the industry says is overdue.

“What we are lacking as an industry and as consumers is a place to consume,” said Jordan Person at Denver NORML, the local…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado committee votes to greatly reduce number of marijuana plants allowed in home grows

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

Colorado is moving toward limiting growing marijuana at home under a bill that sets a max of 12 plants per residential property.

A House committee voted 11-2 Monday to curb the nation’s most generous allowances for growing pot at home.

Colorado currently allows medical pot patients to grow up to 99 plants, far beyond other marijuana states, and it also allows recreational users to group their allotted six plants into massive co-ops, entire greenhouses of pot that aren’t tracked or taxed.

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Longmont to use $600K marijuana grant to keep kids off pot

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

By John Fryar, The Longmont-Times Call

Longmont’s City Council approved a contract Tuesday night with the state for a $567,640 state marijuana impact grant that the city plans to prevent, intervene and suppress youths’ pot use.

The money is part of nearly $1 million in state grants being given to local governments that do not allow retail marijuana sales in their jurisdictions but that have experienced the impacts of the sale, transfer, cultivation or processing of retail marijuana —…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Donald Trump won’t “turn his back” on Colorado when it comes to legal marijuana, GOP lawmaker says

/in , , , , , , , /by

A top Republican lawmaker in Colorado is casting doubt on whether Donald Trump’s administration will crack down on the legalization of marijuana, saying the new president wouldn’t “turn his back” on states’ rights.

Colorado Senate President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican and a Trump supporter, reacted after the statement from White House spokesman Sean Spicer that recreational pot will face “greater enforcement.”

“I’m not sure I’d put too much…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Hickenlooper: It’s unclear whether Trump could stop legal marijuana

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, as a guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, downplayed the possibility that the Trump administration would take aim at Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry, saying legalization’s inclusion in the state Constitution makes it unclear whether the federal government could shut it down.

“Our voters passed it 55-45. It’s in our constitution,” Hickenlooper told “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd on Sunday.

“You don’t think…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis joins with congressional colleagues to create Cannabis Caucus

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

WASHINGTON — Marijuana now has its own official club in Congress, thanks to Colorado congressman Jared Polis and three of his colleagues.

The Boulder lawmaker on Thursday joined with fellow Democrat Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, as well as Republicans Dana Rohrabacher of California and Don Young of Alaska, in launching the Cannabis Caucus — a group dedicated to promoting and protecting the nascent industry of legalized weed.

“We’re really at the tipping point on marijuana reform,”…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

What will be AG Jeff Sessions’ first move on marijuana?

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

A new lawman has come to town, and the marijuana industry could be in for major upheaval.

But just how much change Attorney General Jeff Sessions might impart — and how quickly he’ll address federal marijuana enforcement — remain the multibillion-dollar question.

“It’s not like you could see agents come into every storefront in the United States tomorrow and deal with this. That’s not a reality,” drug policy expert John Hudak said Wednesday.

But if Sessions rescinds the 2013…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Lawmakers push PTSD bill to plea for medical marijuana in Colorado

/in , , , , , , , /by

Efforts over the years to add PTSD as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana in Colorado have been met with failure.

The Colorado Board of Health denied multiple petitions for the inclusion, citing the need for more scientific evidence; bills’ trips through the General Assembly have been short-lived; and veterans and PTSD-sufferers’ legal bids were quashed.

2017 brings with it renewed pushes — both legislatively and legally — to establish PTSD as a qualifying condition.

“I’ve met a number…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Cops can’t be forced to return marijuana in failed drug cases, Colorado Supreme Court says

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that law enforcement officers cannot be forced to return marijuana to defendants even after they are acquitted of pot crimes because doing so would force officers to be marijuana “distributors” and violate federal law.

The ruling overturns a decision by the Colorado Court of Appeals, which ruled that police officers must return marijuana to defendants who win court decisions related to illegal marijuana possession in Colorado.

Forcing Colorado…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Tax hike: What it could mean for consumers, industry in Colorado

/in , , , , , , /by

Cannabis consumers could be paying more Colorado marijuana tax come July 1. As with any proposed tax increase, the prospect has been met with some concern amid the news that one of the state’s pot taxes would increase 50 percent.

At issue is a proposal floated this week by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper that would raise the special sales tax on recreational marijuana products to 12 percent on the date it was scheduled to drop to 8 percent from its current 10 percent.

Unaffected would be…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Hickenlooper pot tax hike plan vaults debate over education spending to forefront

/in , , , , , , , , /by

Top Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday gave a package of tax hikes introduced a day earlier by Gov. John Hickenlooper an uneasy reception, with members of both parties suggesting they found the proposal lacking but are uncertain of how to proceed.

Hickenlooper on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of proposing two tax hikes to send an additional $110 million to public schools, thrusting school funding into the forefront of the state’s budget discussions, even as lawmakers are already

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Denver starts work on allowing pot in yoga studios, coffee shops, art galleries and other public places

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

By Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Denver is starting work Wednesday on becoming the first city in the nation to allow marijuana clubs and public pot use in places such as coffee shops, yoga studios and art galleries.

Voters narrowly approved the “social use” measure last November. But the ballot proposal didn’t spell out many rules for how the marijuana could be consumed, beyond saying that the drug can’t be smoked inside and that patrons must be over 21.

A…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Hickenlooper floats pot sales tax hike to bridge school funding gap

/in , , , , , , , /by

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday asked Colorado lawmakers for a 50 percent increase in sales taxes on recreational marijuana starting July 1 to send an additional $42 million to public schools.

The Democrat wants to increase the recreation sales tax on pot to 12 percent effective July 1, the same day the levy is scheduled to fall to 8 percent. The current tax rate is 10 percent.

The move is part of his plan to fill a $135 million shortfall in school funding caused by a constitutional…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Denver officials start talks about allowing evening marijuana store hours, as neighboring cities do

/in , , , , , , /by

Simply Pure sells marijuana out of a storefront along the Highland neighborhood’s bustling West 32nd Avenue, but its employees must shoo out medical and recreational customers before 7 p.m. — just as the nearby bars and restaurants hit prime time.

The store’s owner is part of a new industry push on the Denver City Council to extend the city’s hard stop on sales to later in the evening, a move that’s gaining traction.

Advocates point to late-night closing times in all…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Pot tax trouble: What legalized states need to know about sketchy predictions

/in , , , , , , /by

Colorado’s cannabis industry is on pace to generate north of $213 million in state tax revenue by 2019, according to the Colorado Legislative Council’s latest economic and revenue forecast released this week.

By The Cannabist’s calculations, that amounts to nearly $1.7 billion in sales of flower, concentrates, edibles and other infused products in the recreational and medical marijuana markets.

But what’s in a number?

This fledgling industry is laden with projections, estimates…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado lawmakers plan crackdown on home pot growers

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

By Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

Hoping to preserve its marijuana law under the next president, Colorado is planning a slate of legislation designed to crack down on pot that is grown legally but then sold on the black market.

The goal is to cut down on complaints that Colorado’s liberal allowances for growing pot without a license has created a thriving network of illegal growers. Colorado allows medical pot patients to grow up to 99 plants, far beyond other marijuana states,…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Denver officials detail next steps for implementing social marijuana measure

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

Denver licensing and legal officials told City Council members Monday that they still had plenty of work to do to implement the first-of-its-kind marijuana social-use law approved by city voters last month.

“Our plan is to implement the will of the voters within the confines of the law,” said Ashley Kilroy, executive director of the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses. She’s also the longtime director of the Office of Marijuana Policy.

But figuring out the “confines of the…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Federal Heights measure legalizing retail pot sales widens lead

/in , , , , , , , /by

Friday brought more good news to the supporters of a Federal Heights retail marijuana ballot issue as a few hundred as yet untallied votes were finally processed by elections officials.

Ballot Question 2B, which would legalize sales of recreational marijuana in the suburb of 12,000, held a 1,702 to 1,655 lead at the end of the day. That 47-vote separation likely puts it out of the margin for an automatic recount.

The results released on election night had shown the measure going down in…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Federal Heights recreational pot measure gets new life

/in , , , , , , , /by

A Federal Heights retail marijuana ballot measure that appeared to be a lost cause a day after the election took on new life Thursday after additional unprocessed ballots in Adams County were tabulated.

The vote count for Ballot Question 2B, which would legalize sales of recreational cannabis in the suburb of 12,000, stood at 1,563 in favor of the measure and 1,550 against late Thursday.

That’s a 13-vote difference, which could easily be affected by provisional ballots that have yet to…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Marijuana industry keeps a wary eye on how Trump will respond to pot legalization

/in , , , , , , , , /by

With the news of Donald Trump’s presidency settling in across Colorado and the nation, some marijuana advocacy groups and industry insiders are feeling anxious about recreational and medical pot under the uncertainty of what a Trump administration — and Republican Congress — will mean for their business.

Trump has said he favors states’ rights and indicated he would not dismantle existing marijuana regulations, but some of his past statements and political allies have raised…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …

Colorado voters approve, reject local pot sales ballot measures

/in , , , , , , , /by

Voters said yes to retail pot sales in Englewood and Palisade but no in Federal Heights, Del Norte, Palmer Lake and four other Colorado towns and cities on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Denver’s measure to permit limited cannabis consumption inside certain businesses continued to lean narrowly toward approval as of early Wednesday. Initiative 300 held a 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent edge, consistent with its lead from tallies posted Tuesday evening.

Marijuana-related measures have become a staple…

CONTINUE READING: Click Here to Continue Reading Article …